Weight reduction in automotive components may improve fuel economy as well as reduce emissions. One method of weight reduction involves substituting lightweight material for traditional materials such as steel and cast iron. However, in certain application, these lightweight materials do not have the required wear, friction, corrosion, and/or lubrication properties of the traditional materials. A new metal alloy composition is desired that will have the requisite wear, friction, corrosion, and/or lubrication properties. The use of spray technologies can be used to deposit metallic, ceramic, and polymeric coatings to provide enhanced wear, friction, corrosion, and/or lubrication properties in lightweight applications. However, the current thermal spray alloys all have signification limitations in terms of the physical and mechanical properties they possess. Therefore, a need exists to develop a thermally-sprayable steel-based alloy that can provide the wear, friction, corrosion, and/or lubrication properties of traditional materials in a lightweight substrate material.